


A Kingdom that is Mine

by DalishGreyWarden



Series: The Fae Chronicals [3]
Category: Original Work, Sons of Anarchy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Shameless Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:48:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24446098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DalishGreyWarden/pseuds/DalishGreyWarden
Summary: Keres Artino is the beloved princess of the Blood Court, the most hated court of the Faelands, and she's on the run from her mother, the vicious Queen Helena, branded a traitor for not agreeing with attacking the other courts. She finds herself in Charming, California, alone and afraid for her life. When she finds the other Fae princesses, she has to prove herself as trustworthy because without them, she can't end the war her mother started.
Relationships: Chibs Telford/Original Female Character(s), Donna Winston/Opie Winston, Half-Sack Epps/Original Female Character(s), Happy Lowman/Original Female Character(s), Jax Teller/Original Female Character(s), Juice Ortiz/Original Female Character(s), Opie Winston/Original Female Character(s), Tara Knowles/Original Character(s)
Series: The Fae Chronicals [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764178
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

I was leaning back in my seat, staring down at the papers in my hands, bored with these reports already. I hated having to spend my mornings dealing with this stupid political bullshit that I didn’t care about, but it was part of my duties and I wanted to get it dealt with as quickly as possible so I could go out and train with our elite team of assassins.

“My lady are you even listening to a word I’ve said?” A harsh voice brought me back to attention, looking up to see the hook nosed crone that was my mother’s advisor glaring at me from across my desk.

“Clearly not, Adrasteia. What drivel were you spewing this time?” I rolled my eyes at the hag knowing my response would antagonize her further. She bristled at my tone, her bright yellow eyes narrowing as she raised a gnarled hand to strike me, snarling when a hand caught her wrist. Standing behind her was Ares, an assassin who had a terrifying reputation even among our own people. He wore a disturbing grin on his face as he gripped the crone’s wrist, the sound of bone grinding together making my stomach turn, and he threw her aside with a laugh.

“Now, now Adrasteia, what would our lovely Queen think of you striking her daughter? Move along or I’ll gladly feed you to Eros,” he motioned to the werewolf lurking in the shadows behind him. “Go on, get out of here.”

Adrasteia fled the room, swearing at Ares under her breath, furious he had stepped in before she could hit me. I turned my gaze back towards Ares, studying him closely; he boasted an old battle wound that sealed his left eye shut, hair as black as ink was worn in a neat ponytail with nary a hair out of place, and his smile was far less malevolent now that Adrasteia was gone. He still boasted an aura of malice, though and it was enough to even make me feel unnerved.

“Thank you for stepping in. That bitch has been smacking me around since I was a child and this time it came back to bite her in the ass.” I set my reports down and stood up, amazed at how short I was compared to Ares. He was stooping slightly just to even fit in my office, the tips of his wings brushing the ceiling, but he still managed to bow respectfully which was impressive as hell.

“It was my pleasure, princess. Agrippa was concerned when you hadn’t come out to the training arena, so I volunteered to come and see where you were.” He reached around me and picked up the papers on the desk, looking them over.

“Apologies, I would have been there sooner, but political duties come first. I had a bunch of reports to read through and file away before I did anything else. I’m finished with them though, so let’s get moving.” I took the reports from him and stuck them in a folder that I needed to drop off with my assistant to file away, tucking it under my arm so I could drop it off with him on our way out.

“What are your thoughts on the upcoming raids on the Court of Stars and Court of Dreams? I must say, I’m rather excited about it all and I’m sure you must be thrilled getting to take command of your own unit of assassins.”

My blood ran cold at Ares’ words, my heart beating hard against my ribcage. What raids? What the hell was he talking about? “Oh, yes, of course. Actually, Ares, I forgot I have something personal to discuss with my mother. I’ll meet you at the training grounds later, okay?” I gave him a fake smile before walking the other way, calling for my assistant to come with me. Once I was out of his line of sight, I let out a shaky breath and leaned back on the wall.

“My lady? Are you alright?” Kiril took the folder from me when I handed it over to him, hesitating in leaving.

“I don’t know,” I frowned slightly, fearing the information I was about to find out. “I need you to do me a favor. Get me a bag packed with supplies and clothing. Don’t speak to anyone at all and don’t let Ares see you getting my things together. I have a terrible feeling about whatever is about to happen and I want to be prepared just in case. Go, make haste and meet me in the hidden wing in my chambers in fifteen minutes. If I’m not there, then I need you to go and warn the Court of Stars and Court of Dreams that our people are planning an attack.”

Kiril nodded and hurried away, glancing back at me one last time before disappearing to take care of things for me. I walked quickly towards my mother’s office, trying not to run so I didn’t alert anyone or raise any suspicions, but it was hard not to do.

“Oh there you are, Keres. Not out at the arena today?” My mother looked up from the map on her large, onyx desk, a smile on her face.

“No mother, not today,” I curtsied respectfully to her but stood my ground by the door, ready to flee if I needed to. “Ares came to see me. He asked if I was ready to lead my own unit of assassins in the invasion of the Court of Stars and Court of Dreams. You know I was against that when it was brought up in our last family meeting.” I waited with baited breath to see her reaction, tensing up when I saw her face get dark for a moment.

“Yes, you did protest it, but you’re a child, you know next to nothing about running a kingdom yet.” She straightened up, pushing her perfectly coiffed blood red hair out of her face, a sweet smile on her lips as she approached me. “You’ll learn in time that it’s better to crush your enemies before they crush you, dearest one.” Her hand went up to touch my cheek gently before reaching up to adjust my tiara and fix my hair.

“I may be a child in your eyes still mother, but I know I’m right in my convictions about this! If we attack those courts, their allies in the Winter Court will join the fight and this will push the Court of Ashes to break their neutrality to take their side as well! We’ll be on our own! The Court of Bones can’t quit squabbling amongst their own factions to be of any help, we will get absolutely decimated. What are you thinking starting a war we can’t win?” I slapped her hand away from me in disgust. We would be outnumbered here if mother followed through with this insane plan of hers. I wasn’t willing to see my people throw themselves into a fight they didn’t have any hopes of winning.

“That’s where you’re wrong dearest. I’ve already sent our elite ahead to begin the invasion. Crops and water sources will be poisoned, children will, of course, be unharmed, they’ll be brought here to be raised in our court. Things are already in motion and can’t be stopped,” Mother was walking over to her desk again to pick back up on whatever she was working on. “You have a choice to make Keres: either you’re with us or you’re not.”

“And if I’m not?” I watched her shoulders tense, her eyes sad for a brief moment.

“Then you face execution as a traitor.”


	2. Chapter 2

Kiril was pacing frantically in front of the ornate mirror hidden away in an alcove in my room that no one, not even mother, knew about, a frown tugging at his full lips. The moment he spotted me, the relief on his face was instant, replacing the worry and fear.

“There you are! I was almost ready to give you up for dead!” He handed me my things and stepped away from the mirror.

“Sorry, I had to buy some time. Kiril, I need you to break the mirror behind me and then get out of here. Once my mother realizes I’m gone and that I’ve “turned traitor” in her words, they’ll come for you first because she’ll know that you helped me. I don’t want you tortured or killed.” I hugged him tightly. He’d been one of my closest confidants here in the palace and I would hate myself if something happened to him because of my actions.

“As you wish my lady,” he was frowning a little again, troubled. “Will we ever see each other again?” There was a quiet tension as we stared at each other, neither of us really wanting to say what was on our minds. We knew the answer here but saying it aloud would make it real and I didn’t want it to be real.

“Stay safe, Kiril.” I took my bag, gave him one last hug, and stepped through my mirror, wondering where I would end up. With these mirrors, no one really knew how they worked: more often than not they would take you almost exactly where you needed to go if a mirror was available, but no one knew why they did it or how. Mother chalked it up to some sort of ancient Fae secret and while she was most likely correct about it, it still didn’t give us an answer as to _why_. If the Death Fae were more willing to speak with others not of their court, I was sure I’d be able to find an answer to satisfy my curiosity.  
The moment I stepped out of the mirror, it glowed brightly for a moment before fading out with a brighter flash, signaling Kiril had broken the one on my end like I’d asked him to. There was no going back now, I had to push on and find my place on Earth. My first order of business was to find out just where in the Goddesses name I’d ended up then find a place to stay so I could get myself together and start figuring out just how to deal with any of this. If anyone from the Blood Court found me, I was toast: by now mother would have to have realized that I’d left and no doubt she’d put an order out to either kill me on sight or bring me back to face execution for betraying her.

_I can only hope that Kiril manages to get away and gather those who didn’t agree to this insane war._ I shifted my bag higher up onto my shoulder and walked further out into the room, trying to determine just where the fuck I landed. Nothing jumped out at me, so it looked like I would just have to take my chances and hope that it wasn’t somewhere I shouldn’t be. With a snap of my fingers, I cast a quick glamour to hide my true appearance and walked out into what appeared to be a back room of some sort of shop. Antiques from the look of it and thankfully it looked like it was midday, so they were open. I nonchalantly walked through the store, pausing every so often to look over items that caught my interest, and slipped out without anyone even realizing I was there. The sunlight had me wincing a little, the brightness far more intense than what I was used to, and I made a mental note to purchase some sunglasses at some point after I found a place to crash.

_Well today is just my lucky day isn’t it? Pretty sure that’s a hotel right across the way. Perfect!_ I glanced around and jogged across the street, pushing open the bright blue doors of a cute hotel that reminded me of the homes nymphs would run in the deepest parts of the Witchwoods to protect innocents who got lost or those who were injured. The moment I set foot inside, I felt my glamour melt away as I looked around in awe: the entire building was much bigger than it had appeared and a woodland nymph was standing at the front desk, a perky smile on her round face.

“Hi! Welcome to the Celestial Hotel and Spa! I’m Ivy Silverdust. I own this hotel and spa for anyone from the Faelands to feel more comfortable here in the mortal realm! Can I get you checked in?” Her voice was just as perky as her smile was as she cheerfully greeted me.

“Er… hi… yeah, I need to rent a room for an extended period of time. I’m… not sure when I’ll be checking out exactly.” I murmured, trying to maintain eye contact with her, but found it hard. I knew how most Fae felt about my people and I was worried I’d get turned away.

“Of course! You must be a refugee from the war breaking out, too, huh? I’ll get you all taken care of! We’ll put you in our finest suite, Princess. And don’t worry, your identity will not be revealed to anyone.” She grew serious quickly, a very slight frown tugging at her bright pink lips while her brow furrowed a tad.

“I… thank you. It won’t be a problem for me to be here? I don’t want to cause you any trouble.” I was taken aback by the kindness she was showing me. I wasn’t used to people treating me with respect, just fear.

“No, no, of course not. You’re just as welcome here as anyone else is. And… well… we’ve heard rumors that you’re nothing like your mother. That you’re kind and you care about the welfare of not only your people, but that of all the citizens who live in the Faelands.” Ivy glanced up from writing in her ledger, getting me checked into the hotel. “Here, these are your keys. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything, okay?”

I took the silver ornate key from Ivy, thanked her quietly, and took the spiraling wooden stairs up to my suite, admiring the flowers and creeping vines that wound around the wooden railing. Ivy clearly put a lot of work into this place and it showed with how beautiful it was here. Upon reaching my room, I gently pushed open the heavy oak door and gasped as I took in the suite. The room itself was huge and decorated to look like something out of a story of ancient princesses. The bed was a king size canopy bed with flowy light pink silk draped off of it, the wood a rich mahogany color and stylized after a unicorn’s spiraling horn. The carpet was a soft cream color, going along with the silvery walls nicely, giving off a peaceful feeling to the room. The bathroom was just as nice with a large bathtub that seemed to mimic what the humans would call a hot tub and a beautiful vanity sat in the corner near a large walk-in closet where I could set my bags in to keep them out of the way. Sitting on the vanity was a gift basket stuffed full of soaps, perfumes, and other things along with a kind note of welcome, and I made a note to thank Ivy for this later. I was eager to unpack and settle in, maybe soak in a warm bath before I turned my attention to the more serious business of locating the other royals, if they were even still alive anyway, and to finding my soulmate. I could feel our bond tugging at me far stronger than when I was back home and I was curious to see what he was like. There was still plenty of time for that, however, and right now I just wanted to take a moment to relax.


	3. Chapter 3

I found myself walking around town, taking in the sights, and following the pull I felt on my heart, wanting to see where my mate was at. I had to admit, I was a little nervous about possibly meeting him. What would he be like? Would he be kind or would he be like the men back home? I didn’t think the Fates were cruel enough to do that to me, but who knew? The Fates weren’t always kind, especially not to my people.

_Shit that’s a Death Fae. I’ve never seen one in person before._ I had rounded the corner pausing momentarily when I spotted a reaper with her arm looped through a rather handsome blonde human man walking towards a motorcycle, talking animatedly and laughing. I froze in place when she spotted me, her smile dropping briefly as shock passed over her features. She said something to her mate and quickly walked this way, a strange look on her pale face, and I willed myself to run but my feet stayed glued to the spot, unable to move.

“You’re alive! Thank the Goddess. I was worried you had been put to death as a traitor.” The reaper swept me up into a quick hug, squeezing tightly for a moment before stepping back to look me over.

“I got away before the Queen realized it. I’m sure she knows by now though. There’s bound to be trouble that stems from her rage, I’m sure she’ll have assassins after me.” I muttered, looking away from her. “Why aren’t you attacking me? Or yelling at me? Or, or anything like that? I’m the enemy, a filthy Blood Court Fae.” This time I did look at her, my crimson eyes searching her face for some sort of answer.

“You are not the enemy here. Would someone who was an enemy send their most devoted followers to try and rescue the Court of Dreams and the Court of Stars?”

My eyes went wide at the mention of Kiril. Had she run into him at some point? He had made it out of there! And it sounded as if he was able to save people! “You met Kiril? Is he okay?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get to meet him. I ran into a group of Court of Stars and Dreams Fae who were traveling to the Winter Court who spoke of him and a small resistance team he was leading. They said he spoke of being sent by you to try and help anyone who might still be alive. Thanks to him, a fairly large group of children and adults from both courts made it out alive. You should be proud to call him a friend.” As this reaper was talking, my eyes caught the attention of someone over her shoulder and I felt my heart stutter in my chest when that familiar tattoo seemed to flash like a beacon. That same tattoo was on my left wrist, the deep purple ink growing warm against my skin as I stared hard at the man who boasted it’s twin. The reaper took notice of my staring, noticing my tattoo, and her head whipped towards the man, her black eyes going wide.

“Oh no… shit. That’s… Opie’s your mate.” It wasn’t a question. I went to move past her to go speak with him, when a woman came pulling up in a beat up old truck and got out, a heated look on her face as they began to argue quietly. A sick feeling overtook me and I backed off, turning on my heel and walking away, my hand pressed to my mouth in shock. I could hear the reaper behind me and she walked with me back to the hotel, neither of us saying anything the whole walk there, my heart slamming into my chest like a hammer. The Fates were definitely not on my side here or back home, this was a punishment for not standing up against my mother sooner. Tears stung my eyes and I quickly wiped them away, not wanting to do this here in public. This was supposed to be the one good thing here in this strange place that I would be calling home temporarily.

“Keres -”

“Don’t. I don’t need comfort. I’m _fine _. Go back to your mate. I’ll be okay.” I snapped at her, silently seething at the idea of someone pitying me over something so stupid. Sometimes stuff like this happened, I was just arrogant enough to think it wouldn’t have happened to me. The Fates were spitting in the face of my arrogance and teaching me a lesson, so I had to just swallow my pride, take the lesson, and move on. The reaper studied me closely for a moment before giving a defeated nod of her head and squeezed my shoulder.__

__“I’m not sure which hotel you’re at, but if you need to talk, you can find me at the Celestial.”_ _

__“Oh, I’m staying there too. Third floor in room 303. Guess I’ll be seeing you around then.” I gave her a nod and walked away, needing to just get somewhere quiet for a while to think about things._ _

__

__~*~*~_ _

__

__The smell of roses and jasmine filled the entire bathroom as I sank down into the large tub, rose petals floating on top of the pink water where a fizzy bath bomb was dissolving under the warm waters flowing from the tap. I had tossed some jasmine scented bath oil in as well to help with my relaxation and I was so glad that I did, my water smelled absolutely heavenly. Warm baths had always been my go to when I was upset or stressed out; the water always helped me clear my head and figure things out when I felt lost. I wished Kiril was here, though, he always had good insight into things and generally had sage advice.  
I sighed softly, leaning my head back against the cool porcelain of the tub, closing my eyes tightly, and tried not to think about my mate. It was hard not to though, my tattoo was warm and slightly pulsing, the feeling not uncomfortable per say but it was rather annoying, a little itchy even. I rubbed at my wrist absentmindedly, wincing as the warm feeling grew until it felt as if my tattoo was on fire. A knock on my door drew my attention from the tattoo and I sat there in the tub for a moment, trying to decide if I should get up and answer it or not. The knocking grew more insistent, so I got up and wrapped my towel around myself so I could go answer the door._ _

__“Hold on a second, I’m coming!” I snapped, reaching for the door and throwing it open after unlocking it, nearly gasping when I saw my mate standing outside my door._ _


	4. Chapter 4

I stood there, slack jawed for a moment, before common sense kicked in and I let out a yelp of surprise, moving to shut the door on him because I was just in a towel and this absolutely was _not_ decent in any way. He caught the door as I tried to shut it and carefully pushed his way into the room, closing the door behind him. Heat rushed to my cheeks as I clutched my towel tighter around myself, completely thrown by him showing up here.

“You were at the auto shop talking to Nyx. My tattoo went haywire when you showed up,” He was frowning just a little, studying me closely.

“I… I’m not… I don’t want to cause problems for anyone. Just… let’s just forget we saw each other.” I mumbled, avoiding his gaze, my tattoo no longer on fire or pulsing, but warm and glowing a soft purple.

“Yeah because I can just forget seeing my soulmate.” He shot back with a frown, taking my arm in his, his fingers tracing over the tattoo on my wrist. I swallowed hard, looking up at him with wide eyes, a multitude of feelings washing over me as we stood there staring at each other.

“You have to. You’re married. I -” My breath caught in my throat as he caught my lips in a kiss that was heated and passionate.

“You’re not gonna cause problems.” He murmured against my lips when he broke the kiss, his hands going to my hips, forehead resting against mine. I extracted myself from his grasp, scowling angrily. How would this _not_ be a problem? He was _married_ for fucks sake!

“Clearly you and your wife are going through… something. I’m not going to add to any of that by doing something stupid.” I shot back, going back towards the bathroom to get my robe.

“She’s my ex-wife.” He grabbed my wrist gently, pulling me back to him, my chest pressed against his. “I wouldn’t have come here if she and I were still together.” His hand was cupping my face, thumb stroking over my cheekbone tenderly. I didn’t know what to say, for once in my life I was actually speechless. What was even the appropriate response to this situation?

“I… you should go. This isn’t… it’s not appropriate for us to be in such a compromising situation like this.” I bit my lip, falling back into old Court etiquette when it came to relationships.

“I’ll go if you really want me to.” He murmured, leaning in to slowly press his lips to mine again. I wanted to say yes, that he needed to leave, but I couldn’t bring myself to do so as I sank into the kiss. If we were back in Court, this would have been a scandal waiting to happen.

“Opie, w-wait,” I whispered between kisses, one hand going up to rest on his chest while the other clung to my towel. “Please, I-I need a minute.” I ran my hands through my hair after taking a step back when he eased up. I needed to give myself a minute to think without letting my hormones clouding my thoughts. Without saying anything, I went back into the bathroom and shut the water off, grabbed my robe and slipped it on so I could quit making sure my towel stayed in place, and went back to sit on the edge of my bed.

“Keres, if you’re not comfortable with this, just say the word. We’ll stop, I won’t question it or argue, it’ll be a full stop until you’re ready.” Opie sat with me, his hand resting on mine.

“It’s not that I’m uncomfortable, it’s just… courtship back home was different, even with soulmates. There were chaperones to make sure no one was put in a scandalous situation and there were rules to be followed. I just need a chance to think and breathe.” I explained softly, tracing soft patterns across Opie’s hand and wrist. He nodded and squeezed my hand gently in his.

“Nyx mentioned that before I came to see you. You’re not with your Court anymore, you can do whatever you want to.”

He was right, I _could_ do whatever I wanted to now. I didn’t have to worry about causing an uproar anymore. I had gotten so used to having to keep my trysts with Kiril so hush hush that I didn’t even think of doing anything else differently. Though that didn’t mean I didn’t want to be pursued and romanced a little bit in the process. I enjoyed the thrill of the chase, it was exciting and it’s part of what had attracted me to Kiril; he played the game well and it was positively exhilarating acting coy while in public only to be ravished later when it was just the two of us.

“I actually enjoy the courtship of my people,” I grinned a little bit, feeling a little shy as I spoke of it. “The excitement of being pursued, the romance, the secret trysts without a chaperone about… there was nothing quite like it. Everyone acted as if the rules were always followed, but really, we all knew that courtships were far more passionate and far more hands on than we showed publicly.” I had gotten to my feet and padded over to the doors that led out to the balcony that overlooked the pool, leaning on the cool marble ledge to look out at the horizon. 

“Sounds like you’ve got a couple stories about it.” I could hear the grin in Opie’s voice and I turned around to face him, smirking a little bit as I recalled one particular moment with Kiril in my office.

“I might have a story or two,” I tilted my head to the side, staring at him curiously. “But I think I’ll save those for another day. I don’t mind if you hang around, but I want to finish my bath that you interrupted.” I traipsed past him to the bathroom, slipping out of my robe and tossing it onto my vanity.

“Mind if I join you?” Opie was up on his feet and right behind me, leaning on the doorframe with a smirk.

“By all means.”

He stripped down and got into the oversized tub first, holding his hand out for me to help me into the tub, his arms going around me once I settled in and leaned back against his chest, tipping my head back to rest on his shoulder.

“So you gonna share one of those stories?”

“You sure you want to hear those? They’re about me hooking up with another guy. Granted it was obviously before we met, but still.” I had a playful grin on my face and shrugged when he nodded in response. “Okay, if you really want to know. I had a thing with my friend and assistant, Kiril, and there was one day I had to do the whole royalty thing and go over paperwork and boring shit. Kiril had been pursuing me for nearly a week, and I, of course, reciprocated his feelings, albeit a little more subtle of course, and he cornered me in my office, pinning me up against the wall,” I was acutely aware of Opie’s hands on my body, one hand resting on my hip while the other slid down to rest on my thigh, his fingers on my inner thigh. “I could hear some of advisors coming down the hall to talk to me and of course we were already in the middle of fucking, so he hid under my desk and while I was sitting there, pantsless, talking to my advisors, he ate me out the entire time. I swore at one point General Abaddon knew something was up because let’s face it, as cool as I was playing it, there were definitely a few times where I came close to breaking. When they left, he bent me over my desk and finished me off right there.” My voice quivered a little bit as Opie’s fingers slipped between my legs.

“Bet I can make you feel better than he ever could,” Opie breathed in my ear, his warm breath making me shiver. “Want to find out?”


	5. Chapter 5

Hydrogen peroxide bubbled on my busted knuckles, foaming up at the contact with the blood that stained my pale hands black. A dull ache throbbed throughout my hand, signaling I’d really done a number on the appendage when I punched that smug Star Fae bitch in the face.

“Here, let me see,” Opie took my hand in his, gently dabbing at the scrapes to clean them up. “You wanna tell me what all of that was about?” He wrapped my hand up, glancing up from his work.

“She popped off with some shit and I didn’t want to hear it.” I muttered, taking my hand back and rubbing it slightly, wincing. I hadn’t brawled like that in a long ass time, I was definitely out of practice. “I don’t know what I have to do to convince them that I’m not the bad guy here. That I’m _just_ as appalled at what my mother did to their people as they are.” I wasn’t sure I could get them to understand that I wasn’t my mother, that I disagreed with her actions.

“Actions usually speak louder than words,” Opie got up to grab a beer out of the fridge, grabbing a Fae wine that I enjoyed and handed me the bottle. “Danica’ll come around, Juice is talkin’ to her right now.”

I cracked open the bottle and took a long pull on it, drinking a quarter of the bottle in one go. He wasn’t wrong, actions did speak louder than words, but damn it all if it wouldn’t take a lot of actions to prove myself.

“You got her pretty good. When I saw her on my way up, her right eye was swollen almost shut and she’s bruised up pretty badly.”

I chuckled darkly, taking another pull on the bottle. At least I’d get that much satisfaction from that little scuffle. “Good,” I set the bottle down on the table. “Thanks for patching me up. I’ve gotta go head down and talk to Nyx, we still have to discuss our problems in the Faelands. That’s our biggest problem right now, not that whatever is going on with you guys isn’t, but this is a huge deal. A war is brewing in the Faelands and if we don’t intervene now, it could spill over to your realm.” I squeezed Ope’s hand briefly and left the room, making my way to the meeting room Ivy had set up. As I walked into the lobby of the hotel, I spotted Juice and Danica together whispering about something. I halted, hanging back in the shadows, watching them to see what was going on.

_What the fuck?_ I watched in confused awe as a soft blue glow came off of Juice’s fingers as he gently ran them over Danica’s skin, the bruising disappearing completely as his hand passed over the damaged skin. How could a human do something like that? I didn’t think they had any sort of access to magic. This was definitely interesting, they were hiding something, I could tell by the way they were constantly checking the area to make sure no one was around.

“Thank you love. You didn’t need to do that, it was fine.” She murmured softly, leaning into Juice for a hug.

“You doing okay? You two were goin’ at it pretty hard and she really landed some good shots.” He tilted her chin up to get a good look at her face. I felt awkward watching such a private moment, but I wanted to know how someone who was supposedly human could heal someone with magic.

“Yeah, I’m alright. I don’t regret what I did, but I do regret letting my temper get the better of me. I shouldn’t have done it. I’m making questionable choices left and right lately. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Juan.”

“Nothing is wrong with you. You’re grieving, Dani. You lost your home, most of your people, you almost lost me… It’s a lot to put on someone. You don’t have to do this alone, let me help.” Juice was holding her tightly, hands rubbing her back, stroking her hair, just loving on her, trying to reassure her.

_Almost lost him? What’s he going on about?_ I shuffled a little closer, hoping to get some answers.

“It’s my burden to bear. I’ve done enough to you, I can’t put anymore on your shoulders.” Danica’s voice was muffled thanks to her face being pressed into his neck.

“Bullshit, you saved me by performing that ritual. So what if I’m Fae now? You did what you had to do and I’m glad you did. We’re a team, Danica. I’m here to help shoulder your burdens and do whatever I can to lighten the load. Just say the word and I’m there baby.”

My eyes went wide at Juice’s words. Danica made him into a High Fae? How in the fuck was that even possible? There was no way this was real, they had to know I was there and were messing with me. Taking a breath, I cleared my throat and made a big show of approaching to make it seem like I hadn’t heard anything. I could see them jump and Juice subtly sketched a sigil on his arm to power up a glamour.

“How long have you been there?” Danica glowered, watching me with a disgusted look on her face.

“Not long at all. Why? Did I interrupt something?” I grinned at her, absolutely giddy with this information that I had.

“No.” The icy tone was a clear indication that she was pissed that I was here interrupting. “I’ll see you after the meeting, okay babe?” She turned back to Juice, kissing him and walked off, shooting one last steely eyed glare my way. I gave her and Juice a sweet smile and followed after Danica so we could get this over with.

“Wait a second,” I grabbed her shoulder, pulling her to a stop. “I know you made Juice into a High Fae. How’d you do it?”


End file.
